Summer Baseball Playoffs Set to Kick Off This Week

On August 5th, the CCBL will begin their three-round playoffs and their journey to crown another champion. In the East Division, we already know the four team’s who will be battling it out, as the Orleans Firebirds, Yarmouth-Dennis Red Sox, Brewster Whitecaps and Chatham Anglers have all clinched playoff berths, although we do not know who will be facing off in the first round until the last few games are finished. In the West Division, the Falmouth Commodores have clinched a playoff spot, while the rest of the division is up for grabs. The Bourne Braves (40 points), Cotuit Keetlers (39), Wareham Gateman (35) and Hyannis Harbor Hawks (33) will be battling it out during the last few days of the season for the final three playoff spots in the West. Regular season games will continue through August 3rd, with August 4th set as an off-day for potential games that are rained out to be played before the playoffs begin.

Tomorrow future baseball stars have continued to put up impressive numbers this season, impressing scouts who converge on the Cape every summer. It has tough to find a pitcher better than Kris Bubic (Stanford), who leads the league in wins, strikeouts, and earned-run average pitching for Yarmouth-Dennis. In 32.2 innings pitched, Bubic has compiled a 4-1 record with a 1.65 ERA while striking out 41 and only walking 7 batters. In the All-Star Game, Bubic had a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts. At the dish, Orleans slugger Stephen Scott (Vanderbilt) won the home run derby and soon after took the league in RBI’s with 32 too this point in the season. Scott is batting .316 with 7 home runs and the 32 RBI in 35 games played for Orleans this summer. Wareham hitter Tanner Dodson (Cal) leads the league in batting average at .361, while Brewster slugger Chandler Taylor (Alabama) leads the league with 9 home runs.

Every game will continue to be broadcast online through the Internet Broadcasting Network through each of the team’s who play in the games. Fox College Sports series of broadcasting games has finished, and WEEI 96.3 Cape Cod Sports Radio will broadcast various playoff games over the airwaves, to be determined at a later date when the playoff schedule in determined.

Future’s Collegiate Baseball League

The FCBL regular season is set to finish up on August 6th, and the six-team playoffs will begin shortly afterwards. The top three teams in each division with participate in the postseason, and the races are tight into the last week of the season. In the West Division, the race is as tight as it can be, with any of the four teams with the opportunity to make the playoffs. The Pittsfield Suns (53 points) currently lead the division and are closely followed by the Wachusett Dirt Dawgs (50), Bristol Blues (46) and Worcester Bravehearts (45). If the Bravehearts are able to pass the Blues, it is likely we will see three Massachusetts teams battle for the West Division crown. In the East, the Brockton Rox (56 points) have pulled ahead in first place and are close to clinching a playoff berth. State rivals Martha’s Vineyard Sharks (45) and North Shore Navigators (41) are trying to make a late season comeback and join the Rox in the postseason, chasing Nashua and Seacoast in hopes of making an appearance in the postseason.

FCBL players have continued to put up impressive numbers this summer, in hopes of impressing scouts across the country. Dirt Dawgs slugger Zack Tower (Franklin Pierce) has continued his torrid pace, and now leads the league with 16 home runs while maintaining a .323 average with 41 RBI. His 16 home runs leads all collegiate players in Massachusetts this summer. Tower is also tied for the league lead with 41 RBI with Navigators hitter Alex Brickman (St. Petersburg’s Junior College). Brickman’s teammate Austen Michel leads the league in ERA, with a 1.55 ERA in 46.1 innings with 50 strikeouts. Braveheart’s pitcher Cody Laweryson (Maine) leads the FCBL with 56 strikeouts and only a 2.17 ERA in only 29 innings pitched. Lawyerson’s teammate Sean Mellen (Northeastern) is in second place in the league in strikeouts with 55 on the season.

The team’s have about one week left in the regular season before the playoffs will begin. The top three teams from each division with make the playoffs, with the #3 and #2 seeds each playing in winner-take-all play-in games for the right to play the #1 seed. A three-game series will take place to determine each division champion, and the championship series will also be a best-of-three series.

New England Collegiate Baseball League

The NECBL regular season will finish up on August 1 and the playoffs will begin shortly after. In the Northern Division, the Valley Blue Sox of Holyoke have locked up a playoff spot and seemed destined to host the first round playoff game, likely hosting the Keene Swamp Bats. If they can win that game, they will move onto the Northern Division championship series against the Upper Valley Nighthawks. In the Southern Division, the Plymouth Pilgrims have secured a playoff spot and will participate in the first round playoff game as well. The Pilgrims will likely head to Groton, Connecticut to face off against the Mystic Schooners, and with a win will be able to face off with the first-place Ocean State Waves.

Massachusetts teams have seen their players have put up impressive numbers this summer. North Adams pitcher Blake Whitney (South Carolina Upstate) has continued to absolutely dominate hitters, leading pitchers in all three league’s in the states with 80 strikeouts. Whitney started the All-Star Game on July 30 and had a 1-2-3 inning with two strikeouts. Pilgrims pitchers Cameron Junker (Notre Dame), Jonathan Bermudez (St. Leo College) and Garrett Acton (St. Louis University) with 48, 45 and 44 strikeouts on the season respectively. Bay Sox pitcher Brent Teller (Sacred Heart) has also had an impressive season on the mound, with a 1.92 ERA with 37.1 innings pitched on the season.

On July 30, North Adams hosted the NECBL All-Star Game, when some of best baseball brightest future stars ascended on The Berkshires. The exciting day concluded with a 5-5 tie between the North and South All-Stars in front of 2,316 fans. Pilgrims slugger Hernan Sardines (Maine) blasted a solo home run in the 9th inning to tie the game for the South when the home North team was looking to close out the game in the final inning. Sanford Mainer and North Reading native Colby Maiola (UMass-Lowell) went 3-3 in the All-Star Game with a home run, RBI and two runs scored.

Lowell Spinners

The Spinners have rebounded after a tough stretch by winning four of their last six games to improve their outlook at the New York-Penn League playoffs. The Spinners sit at 16-22 on the season and 5.5 games behind the first place Vermont Lake Monsters in the Stedler Division. In the Wild Card race, the Spinners find themselves 7.0 games behind the West Virginia Black Bears. The Spinners are in Connecticut for a three-game series with the Tigers, before returning home to face off against the Hudson Valley Renegades for three games and then head to Brooklyn for a three-game bout with the Cyclones. The team will be hosting some great promotions during their series against Hudson Valley. On August 2nd will be “9 Innings of Winning” where prizes including a 32-inch TV. On August 3 the game will include an appearance by WWE legend Ted Dibiase, a “Kids Happy Hour” where kids will receive a half-price combo meal and half-price wrist bands to the Foul Ball Fun Zone. After the game, the team will invite 30 fans onto the field for when they drop $1,000 in cash on the field. The August 4 game will include a Princess Night, a Girl Scout Sleepover and Fireworks following the game.